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Kings survive seven-game series with Sharks

Kings winger Justin Williams (14) celebrates his second goal of the game against the Sharks with teammates Dustin Brown (23) and Anze Kopitar (11) during Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series in Los Angeles, Tuesdya, May 28, 2013. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

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They might be sore, spent and even a bit shaken after a second-round scare from their upstate rivals, but they're still standing.

With Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 at Staples Center, the Los Angeles Kings cashed in on home-ice advantage and advanced to the Western Conference final, the third step in their quest to raise another Stanley Cup banner.

"We're only halfway there," said Kings winger Justin Williams. "We've won eight games out of 16. We're happy with where we're at, but certainly not satisfied."

Williams scored twice in a span of 2:57 early in the second period and netminder Jonathan Quick was outstanding — yeah, again — as the Kings extended their remarkable winning streak at Staples Center to 14 contests with Tuesday's triumph. The home team claimed all seven games in the all-California clash.

The Kings will now await the winner of Wednesday's Game 7 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings in the Windy City.

"Hope for three overtimes," joked Kings head coach Darryl Sutter.

The Kings, trying to become the NHL's first repeat champion since the Red Wings of 1997 and '98, were just a sliver better than their out-of-town guests in Tuesday's winner-take-all finale.

The loss officially ends their season, but the Sharks' most costly setback against the Kings might have come in their April 27 regular-season finale.

The Sharks arrived at Staples Center that day deadlocked with the defending champs in the standings but suffered a 3-2 loss that gave the Kings the fifth seed in the Western Conference. As it turned out, that home-ice advantage was the difference in this series.

"It's heartbreaking," said Sharks centre Logan Couture, who played the final four games of the series with a sprained ankle. "We battled hard to get where we were. We made some changes and played a good first round, then forced, I think, the best team in the league, to seven games and almost beat them in their building. It's tough to take."

The other difference in this series was Quick.

No offence to San Jose's Antti Niemi, who was solid in this series, but the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner looks like he could backstop the Charlestown Chiefs to a Stanley Cup celebration right now.

Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle snuck a shot through traffic at the 5:26 mark of Tuesday's final frame, but he was the only guy to solve Quick, who finished with 25 stops.

His best came with about five minutes remaining in the third and the Sharks pushing hard for an equalizer, when he sprawled out to swipe Joe Pavelski's shot at a wide-open net.

"That save is a game-breaker for them," said Kings captain Dustin Brown. "That's why he's our backbone back there. It's not like you expect him to make those saves, but you expect him to make those saves, right?"

The other hero in Tuesday's showdown was Williams, a grizzled veteran who had mostly been a non-factor in this series before sniping a pair in the finale.

He relentlessly poked at a loose puck at the post on a power play just four minutes after the first intermission, finally pushing it past — maybe through? — Niemi's pad to open the scoring.

Less than three minutes later, immediately after Quick made terrific stops on Patrick Marleau and Couture on the same shift, Anze Kopitar teed up Williams for a one-timer on an odd-man rush, giving the Kings a two-goal lead.

The 31-year-old now has five goals and four assists in four Game 7s during his NHL career. Can you say clutch?

"Sometimes, the puck just seems to find you. I scored two goals but I felt I could have had three or four tonight," Williams said. "If it wasn't me, I guarantee it would have been somebody else scoring."

It was just him on this night, but when your netminder arrives at the rink with a 1.54 goals-against average, two will usually do it.